Ezzedine Choukri Fishere
| Born |
October 22, 1966 Kuwait |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Professor at AUC, writer, novelist and ex-diplomat |
| Language | Arabic |
| Nationality |
 Egypt |
| Ethnicity | Egyptian |
| Citizenship |
Egypt |
| Alma mater |
Bachelors of Political Science (1987) Cairo University Diploma in Administration (1995) ÉNA Masters in International Relations (1995) University of Ottawa PhD in Political Science (1998) Université de Montréal |
| Notable works |
Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge Exit Door Abu Omar Al-Masry |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Ezzedine Choukri Fishere (Arabic:عز الدين شكري فشير) (born 1966 in Kuwait City) is an Egyptian novelist, diplomat and academic.[1]
Early Life and Career
He graduated from Mansoura Secondary School in Dakahlia. In 1987, he studied political science at Cairo University, and obtained an International Diploma in Administration from École Nationale d'Administration in Paris (1992), a Masters in International Relations in 1995 from the University of Ottawa, and a PhD in political science from Université de Montréal in 1998[2]
Fishere worked intermittently as an Egyptian diplomat. In 1989, He served in the cabinet of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel from 1999 to 2001, and as a counselor to the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit from 2005 to 2007. He also worked as a political advisor to the United Nations Special Envoy to the Middle East during the Second Intifada (2001-2004). He then joined the UN Advance Mission to Sudan UNAMIS and contributed to establishing the first UN peacekeeping mission in that country after the signing of the Naivasha peace agreement in 2005. During his year in Sudan, Fishere served as the UN's focal point for the Darfur negotiations in Addis Ababa, Ndjamena and Abuja. Fishere also served as the political advisor to the 2004 UN fact-finding mission to Lebanon investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
During this period, Fishere quietly published his first two novels, The Killing of Fakhredine (1995) and Pharanoic Journeys (1999).[3] In 2007, he left diplomacy and assumed a more public role, focusing on his writing and on teaching. He published his third novel, Intensive Care Unit in 2008, which gained him considerable praise from the public and critics alike. The book was long-listed for the Arabic Booker Prize. His following novel Abu Omar Al-Masry was equally successful. Salah Fadl, a leading Egyptian critic, declared that "with these four novels, Fishere has entered the canon of Arabic literature."[4]
In parallel, Fishere has been teaching political science at the American University in Cairo since 2008.[5] He also writes frequently for the press, both in Arabic and in English. Recently, he was appointed by Egypt's transitional government as Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council for Culture in April 2011. Fishere resigned four months later and returned to teaching and writing.
His fifth novel, Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge, was released in June 2011 and is long-listed for the Arabic Booker Prize (2012). It is described by critics as a novel about identity complexity [6]
His most recent novel, Bab Al-Khorouj, (Arabic: باب الخروج, "Exit") tells the story of Egypt's sorrows and hopes through the eyes of father who, in 2020, writes to his son a long letter. Since its publication in daily segments in El-Tahrir Newspaper, it has been published several times.
Novels
- 1995: Maktal Fakhreddine, (Arabic: مقتل فخرالدين, "The Killing of Fakhredine")
- 1999: Asfar Al-Fara'een, (Arabic: أسفار الفراعين, "Pharanoic Journeys")
- 2008: Ghorfet Al-Enaya Al-Murakazza, (Arabic: غرفة العناية المركزة, "Intensive Care Unit")
- 2010: Abu Omar Al-Masry, (Arabic: أبو عمر المصري)
- 2011: E'nak E'nda Jesr Brooklyn, (Arabic: عناق عند جسر بروكلين, "Embrace by Brooklyn Bridge")
- 2012: Bab Al-Khorouj, (Arabic: باب الخروج, "Exit")
- 2012: Fi A'in Al 'Asefa, (Arabic: في عين العاصفة, "In The Storm")